If you’re one of the few retail businesses that still need convincing about the power of mobile, look no further than recently released stats surrounding Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
According to online electrical goods firm AO.com, mobile traffic on these two promotional days alone increased by 35% – and that’s just one retailer’s story.
It’s not just direct sales traffic being lifted by mobile interactions, either; the majority of digital conversations surrounding Black Friday and Cyber Monday took place on mobile devices.
So, what does this mean for online retailing in 2015?
For starters, mobile is going to play an even greater role in promotional events. There are now more than 1.75 billion smartphones in the world, and we’re seeing new markets for mobile commerce emerging month on month.
Even in regions with high smartphone usage, the concept of buying by phone is continuing to rise in popularity.
The majority of online shoppers choose this channel because of its convenience, and improvements to network speed and availability – spurred on by the launch of 4G – is enabling consumers to make purchases virtually anywhere. Many retail stores and hospitality vendors are supporting this by introducing free Wi-Fi services.
How can ecommerce companies support mobile traffic?
It’s becoming very clear that mobile commerce is a huge market, and those e-tailers not experimenting in this space are potentially costing themselves significant profits.
However, many companies have rushed into a mobile-first strategy, which hasn’t necessarily stood them in good stead long-term. For while there are many more consumers who choose to shop via their mobile devices today than they were just a few months ago, plenty consumers still prefer to use desktop or laptop computers.
The golden rule with mCommerce is to optimise your channels for mobile traffic, without cannibalising sales from other digital platforms. Creating a responsive website is essential to this, as it ensures that your online presence is being displayed correctly on the device that each customer is using.
It’s also important to ensure the transactional process runs smoothly and is easy to navigate from all devices. The average shopping cart abandonment rate is 68.07% – and all too often this is down to unwieldy checkout protocol that requires too much effort on the part of the consumer.
Top tips for successful mCommerce
To help your business become optimised for mobile traffic in 2015, we’ve put together a short set of tips to boost your website’s compatibility with all digital devices:
- Don’t get carried away with too much text and imagery, or a complicated sitemap. On a small screen device, less is more, so keep the layout clean and minimalist
- Work with a specialist mobile consultant, who can lend their expertise to the entire process – including app development, security and user experience
- Support your website with mobile friendly marketing strategies, to encourage traffic from smartphones and tablets
- Analyse where your traffic is coming from and invest in the areas that are converting well. Question why some areas need improvement, and create strategies for boosting visits